>
>
> well, i've only seen it about 3 times but i'd stick
around to watch a
new 35
> mm print of "the killing", a really great film
(final scene: "johnny,
you've
> got to run!" - "ah, what's the use.") but then i
last saw it on video
at
> least 6 years ago. that film may be the ultimate
example (in my
experience)
> of the "perfect crime except for one weak link,
whereupon everything
> unravels" theme (similar to "asphalt jungle" in that
sense - in that
case i
> liked the book better than the film, it seemed to
have more
atmosphere).
> anyone know of a book version of this film - script
by lionel white,
> dialogue by jim thompson IIRC?
>
> -ksm
>
It was purely a financial decision, in the end. I couldn't
afford to go see "Cockfighter" either but I was determined to
live on Weet Bix for the duration of the weekend if
necessary. The fact that I'd seen "The Killing" many times is
the only reason the Weet Bix didn't win out. Lionel White
wrote the novel, "Clean Break", on which "The Killing" is
based. Thompson is credited with the script, IIRC, although I
believe Kubrick claimed that he only contributed some
dialogue while he was responsible for the majority of the
script or vice versa, Thompson wrote most of the script but
was only credited with dialogue. Whichever, I seem to recall
that Kubrick treated his writers with contempt so it may be
you'd need to take his word with a pinch of salt on this
topic.Which reminds me of something that bugs me a little in
regards to attitudes to classic HB/noir films that are
adaptations of HB/noir novels. While films such as "The
Killing" & "The Big Heat" have long been considered
classics of film, the source material is treated with
contempt, e.g I've seen at least one article about "The
Killing" that referred dismissively to the original novel as
"some pulp novel" & this is pretty typical. What makes it
doubly ironic is that, for instance, again with "The Killing"
Kubrick is widely lauded for his innovative flashback
technique which IIRC closely follows the plotting of the
original novel. Another example: I recently saw a rather good
doco about Lee Marvin on the TV. They made a big thing out of
the great scene in "The Big Heat" where Marvin throws
scalding coffee into Gloria Grahame's face, strongly implying
that this scene was a hallmark of Marvin's genius as an
actor. Now, I don't know if that scene was in the film script
but it is most definitely in the novel. This attitude may be
starting to change with the newfound semi-respectability of
"pulp" authors but I think it's still prevalent.(Oh, by the
way. No disrespect meant to either Kubrick or Marvin, great
artists both).
Rene
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